Indians Prospect Insider

The Akron RubberDucks turned a stunning triple play in Saturday night’s game against the Binghamton Mets. Unfortunately, that was the only highlight of the night during a forgettable, 5-1 loss to the Mets at NYSEG Stadium.

The first place Columbus Clippers took a beating from Indianapolis Saturday night. The second place Indian's offense was on fire leading them to a 9-2 win. After a two run homer in the first off of starting pitcher Gabriel Arias the Indians were off to a quick 2-0 lead. Francisco Lindor came through in the bottom of the first to cut Indianapolis' lead in half with a single homer deep to centerfield. Lindor has racked up four homers in his 29 games in triple-a so far.

Casey Shane, just promoted to Mahoning Valley on Friday, spent his 19th birthday making his first start for the Scrappers. Shane scattered five hits, allowing just one unearned run, while earning the win. Bradley Zimmer homered and drove in three runs as the Scrappers beat the Batavia Muckdogs 5-1.

The Cleveland Indians today announced they have acquired catcher Chris Gimenez from the Texas Rangers for future considerations. They also placed catcher Yan Gomes on the 7-day Disabled List with concussion symptoms, retroactive to August 22.

After going 6-9 in Lake County during 2013, few people, if any, saw a potential ace in Carolina Mudcats left-hander Ryan Merritt before the season began. That perception has certainly changed now. A 16th round draft pick in 2011, Merritt is having one of the best seasons in Mudcats franchise history, including before they were affiliated with the Indians. The IBI's Zachary Francis recently sat down and spoke with the talented lefty about his season...

Though his first exposure to Triple-A has not gone perfectly, Francisco Lindor looked good Friday night. Lindor had the first four-hit night of his Triple-A career and extended his hitting streak to three games with hits in 10 of his last 11. Join Arthur Kinney as he breaks down Lindor's Triple-A career to date and recaps the rest of the night in the organization as he takes you Around the Farm.

Carlos Carrasco threw another excellent start, but it was a late-inning collapse on the basepaths and with the gloves that shot down the Cleveland chances late as the Indians lost on Friday to the Astros, 5-1. Yet for the second game in a row, it was a Zach Walters solo home run that provided Cleveland's only run. The Legend of Zacky Thunderstick rises, and the IBI's John Grimm breaks it down.

The weekend has finally arrived. Have a great and relaxing weekend! In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andrew Zajac will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on the Red Sox signing Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo to a record deal, how long fans can expect Yan Gomes to be out, an injury update on Orioles star Manny Machado, and more.

Binghamton second baseman Dilson Herrera is making the most of a mid-season promotion to Double-A.Herrera headlined a sizzling B-Mets offense by going 3-for-3, with a pair of doubles, a sacrifice fly and four RBI Friday night, as the Mets throttled the road-weary Akron RubberDucks, 12-3, in the opener of a three-game weekend series at NYSEG Stadium.

For the second straight night, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers offense struggled to put the ball in play, striking out 11 times. However, the Scrappers were able to hit when it mattered the most, scoring a run in the top of the 9th inning and then holding on in the bottom half for a 2-1 win over the Batavia Muckdogs.

The Indians have 99 problems, and all of them are errors. Knotted in a 1-1 tie with Houston in the ninth, two critical defensive errors by the Tribe cost them the series opener. Held to just one run on two hits all night, the Astros went onto score four runs in the inning, leading to a 5-1 victory. Join IBI Indians beat reporter Jim Berdysz as he recaps an ugly loss from the ballpark.

Despite losing an early lead, Eric Haase’s RBI single in the top of the ninth pushed the Carolina Mudcats ahead for an 8-7 victory over the Winston-Salem Dash Friday. Carolina was in control early, with the Mudcats bats jumping all over Dash starter J.B. Wendelken in the top of the first. Yhoxian Medina opened the contest with a base hit up the middle before Yandy Diaz quickly put the Mudcats ahead with a two-run shot to right. Later in the inning, Torsten Boss doubled the advantage, unleashing a homer of his own to right plating Alex Monsalve as the Mudcats grabbed the 4-0 lead.

The Lake County Captains (32-27, 59-70) opened a seven run lead and they survived a late-inning comeback by the Fort Wayne Tincaps (26-34, 56-73) on Friday night. The Captains took the second game of the series 8-7. The magic number to clinch a playoff spot is now six with ten games to play.

In this week’s Minor Happenings, the IBI's Tony Lastoria takes a look at the strong rebound right-handed pitcher Mitch Brown has made this season and just how impressive he has been since early May. He also spends a lot of time looking at the Happenings in Arizona with a deep look into the spectacular showing Bobby Bradley has had and why it is so special on so many levels, he provides a ton of comments from Ross Atkins on the players in Arizona such as Bradley, Yu-Cheng Chang, Alexis Pantoja, Justus Sheffield, Grant Hockin, Jared Robinson and others, and more.

Thursday was another reminder that nothing is automatic in baseball and even the best in the game have their off-days. Corey Kluber still gave the Indians a quality outing allowing only three runs in seven innings of work, but by his standards, he was below par for the course against the Twins as the Tribe failed to complete the three-game sweep. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he recaps the game.

Clint Frazier and Carlos Moncrief highlighted the night for the organization on Thursday, but the pair are pretty different when it comes to their developmental status. As a young outfielder in Low-A, Frazier's performance on-the-field matters less than Moncrief's, who is an older player in Triple-A. Join Jim Piascik as he breaks down what that means in addition to recapping the rest of the action from throughout the minor leagues as he takes you Around the Farm.

It's almost the weekend! In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andrew Zajac will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on the Angels acquiring Gordon Beckham, Garrett Richards receives a diagnosis, what some are saying about Asdrubal Cabrera in Washington, and more.

Clint Frazier had three hits and knocked in three runs as the Captains went on to beat Fort Wayne by a final of 8-7. Fraizer fell a homer shy of the cycle, however he also scored two runs. The Captains have won three straight ballgames.

One night after the Mahoning Valley Scrappers pounded out ten hits on their way to a 9-1 win, the Williamsport Crosscutters pitching staff would completely dominate. The Crosscutters held the Scrappers to just six hits before rallying to tie the game in the 7th then winning on a walk off single in the 9th for a 2-1 win.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!